Use The Gifts Of God Or Lose Them: A Reflection On The Sunday Gospel By Fr. Michael Barrow, SJ

In this Sunday's gospel Jesus tells a parable of a very rich man who entrusts a great deal of his wealth to other people. Some use the money to make a profit and some don't even try to make a profit or use the money at all. When the rich man comes back and asks how they've done, he praises and rewards those who have made a profit and gives them even more. Those who haven't used it at all he criticizes and takes away from them the little they have.In the parable it sounds as if the Lord is punishing, but in effect he is just reminding us of what will inevitably happen if we do not use the gifts we have been given.

Jesus is not threatening us but wants us to be aware of what we are doing to ourselves. If you go to your doctor with an ailment and she prescribes medication for your healing, she may even say, "If you don't take his medication you are going to be in serious trouble." She is not threatening you, but simply reminding you of the consequences of what you might do or not do. In a similar way Jesus is warning us not to lose the gifts we have. A loving person who is very considerate and thoughtful of others is using his gift of love and in the process becomes more loving. Anyone who has such a gift but does not use it will not grow more loving but on the contrary, will lose what little love they ever had. That is why Jesus explains, "Those who have will be given more and they will have more than enough, but those who have nothing will lose even what they have."